GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES MAJOR LIFE SCIENCES INVESTMENT IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
HOLYOKE – Thursday, February 28, 2013 – Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) today announced more than $9 million in grants for life-sciences-related capital projects in Western Massachusetts, including $3.8 million to support the creation of a Center for Life Sciences at Holyoke Community College (HCC), and $4.54 million that will allow the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke to expand its capacity for life sciences-related research and data analysis. Through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Massachusetts is investing $1 billion over 10 years in the growth of the state’s life sciences supercluster. These investments are being made under Governor Patrick’s Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative.
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“Supporting innovation propels our economy forward and prepares our citizens for the 21st century global marketplace,” said Governor Patrick. “Our innovation economy relies on a well-educated, well-skilled workforce, and these grants will expand opportunity and grow jobs in communities throughout the Commonwealth.”
“Our Administration is committed to investing in innovation across the state, including the life sciences industry in Western Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. “These capital project investments will enhance research, workforce training and job creation, expand opportunities to develop improved medicine and support the region’s long-term economic growth.” |
“Schools like Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College play major roles in training the next generation of our state’s life sciences workforce, and they ensure that training for innovation economy jobs is inclusive and available all across the state,” said Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the MLSC. “Our grants help ensure that these schools can provide students in Western Massachusetts with first-rate training facilities “Our grant to the MGHPCC leverages prior investments by the state and five of our top universities by expanding the MGHPCC’s capacity to make advanced computing available to the life sciences community.”
The largest grant awarded today went to the MGHPCC. This investment will build on an infrastructure for large-scale data analysis that is already in place in Holyoke and was created by a strong partnership among academia, industry and the Commonwealth. Boston University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts have teamed with Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer, Merck, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, EMC and IBM, among others, to create this computing resource. The MLSC funding of $4.54 million will allow the MGHPCC to create a cloud-based resource for data-driven biology.
“As with other scientific disciplines, discovery and innovation in the life sciences are dependent on high-performance computing,” said John Goodhue, Executive Director of the MGHPCC. “This investment will leverage the capabilities of the MGHPCC and its university partners to strengthen the state’s position as a leader in life sciences research, an important driver of the Massachusetts economy. The MLSC’s investment will also add a new dimension to the ongoing partnership between the MGHPCC and western Massachusetts business and educational institutions.”
“Biomedical sciences are in the midst of a revolution where many of the challenges are becoming large-scale data problems,” said Manuel Garber, Associate Professor in the Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “The investment in this computer system will poise the state of Massachusetts as a leader in the development of computational methods to understand and a catalytic force in applying these discoveries to improve health care.”
HCC was granted $3.8 million to support the renovation of 13,000 square feet of lab space and the creation of a Center for Life Sciences. This will include a clean room for the biological sciences, which will be the only clean room in Western Massachusetts to support training for students, faculty and industry partners.
“The importance of community colleges in providing access to life sciences education for minority, low-income and first-generation students cannot be overstated,” said HCC President William F. Messner. “This grant will enable us to expand our partnerships and establish a solid pipeline from high school, to college, to the workforce. It will allow HCC to strengthen articulations with Mount Holyoke and Smith College and increase the number of women in life sciences fields. It will provide the college with the resources necessary to support our industry partners, and ensure our curriculum aligns with their needs and equips our graduates with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue further education or enter the workforce.”
“This project at Holyoke Community College is absolutely essential for regional life science economic development,” said Steve Richter, President & Scientific Director of Microtest Labs in Agawam. “The caliber of this project adds to the force required for real change and job development. The focus on microbiology and clean room technology creates value for students and industry. The medical device, biotech and compounding pharmacies will benefit from future graduates.”
The MLSC also awarded two planning grants to academic institutions in the region. These grants allow institutions to propose and develop studies in order to further identify what types of life sciences resources would be most useful to them:
- Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) was awarded $150,000, which will be used to update its equipment and labs to align with the needs of life sciences companies. MLSC funding will allow STCC to conduct a study to identify the most appropriate equipment that will best deliver a life sciences education leading to employment in the field.
- Bay Path College in Longmeadow recently received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education aimed at improving undergraduate student retention, supporting curricular redesign, faculty professional development, and student academic and career support services. The MLSC planning grant of $50,000 will enable Bay Path College to engage key stakeholders from the life sciences industry, workforce development, and educational institutions to identify the capital needs and other resources needed to fully implement this initiative in the sciences at Bay Path College.
“STCC applauds Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for their investment in life sciences education,” said Dr. Lisa Rapp, Chair of STCC’s Biotechnology Department. “STCC’s planning grant will allow the college to determine which capital resources we most need to create and furnish up-to-date, industry-aligned, teaching laboratories to educate and train a skilled life sciences workforce for the Commonwealth.”
“We have always been responsive to the workforce development needs of our region. As Bay Path continues to invest and grow our programs in the life sciences, our planning must be conducted in collaboration with the life sciences industry in Massachusetts where our students are most likely to pursue careers, thereby ensuring their success and also enabling the industry as a whole to flourish,” said Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of Bay Path College.
In December, 2012, Lieutenant Governor Murray and the MLSC announced a round of equipment and supply grants for vocational and technical high schools and public high schools in gateway cities, with the idea of furthering STEM education. High schools in Western Massachusetts received more than $500,000 toward lab renovation and equipment. The six schools in Western Massachusetts, the city or town in which they are located, and the amount of their respective grants are as follows:
| School | City | Award Amount | |||
| Holyoke Public Schools (Dean Technical High School & Holyoke High School) | Holyoke | $ 195,019.83 | |||
| Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy | Springfield | $ 100,000.00 | |||
| Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School | Northampton | $ 100,000.00 | |||
| Taconic High School | Pittsfield | $ 88,028.74 | |||
| Westfield High School | Westfield | $ 44,333.00 | |||
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a 10-year, $1-billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The MLSC’s mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties among sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES NEW ONLINE TOOL TO SHOW BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH
BOSTON – Wednesday, February 27, 2013 – Governor Deval Patrick today unveiled an online map tool that shows members of the public, in real terms, what investing in growth and opportunity will mean for their communities.
“This tool will help people see exactly what to expect in their own backyard as part of the investments we’ve proposed,” said Governor Patrick. “Meaningful investments in education and transportation today will significantly improve our economic future both in the short term and for generations to come.”
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Each map outlines transportation projects in every community that would be funded under the Governor’s FY14 budget proposal, as well as the additional Chapter 70 education funding and support for public colleges and universities communities can expect to receive under the Governor’s investment plan. The maps also show how many children in each community are on the waitlist for early education and care programs. As part of the Governor’s investment plan, the 30,000 child waitlist for early education and care programs across the state would be eliminated. |
Governor Patrick has challenged members of the public to ask themselves what kind of Commonwealth we want and need for our time and the generations to come, and these maps demonstrate exactly how bold investment now will build a stronger Commonwealth in the near term and for future generations.
“As we continue to discuss the importance of making strategic investments to grow our Commonwealth, this new online tool serves as another resource for residents to understand how investments in education and transportation will directly impact them and their cities and towns,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.
Each of the 400 maps in total, representing both Senate and House districts, can be found at www.mass.gov/governor/choosegrowth. There are two maps per district – one displaying transportation investments and one displaying education investments in each community.
Governor Patrick’s budget plan includes a $1 billion annual investment in the Commonwealth’s transportation system to maintain the current transportation assets we have today and launch a number of high-impact transportation projects across Massachusetts that, if built, will create thousands of jobs and spur economic development across the Commonwealth. The plan also includes a $550 million investment in education, reaching $1 billion over four years, to provide universal access to high quality early education for children across the state, from birth through age five; fully fund K-12 education and allow for extended school days in high-need schools; make college more affordable and accessible for high school graduates; and allow our community colleges to expand their efforts to provide students with the knowledge and skill training needed to succeed in the workplace.
Following the announcement of this plan in his State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Patrick has been traveling across the state making the case for business leaders, educators, local elected officials and members of the public about the importance of investing now in education, innovation and infrastructure to spur job creation and unlock opportunity in every corner of the Commonwealth. For more information on the Governor’s investment plan visit www.mass.gov/governor/choosegrowth.